Britain and World War II

Churchill:

‘Churchill might be the right man in time of war’..

..British people often said during the 1930s..

.. ‘but not in peace’.

Now it was war..

..and no other elder statesman in the Britain of 1940 could have inspired as much confidence..

..his hour, indeed, had come.

The Battle of Britain:

The invasion of Britain in ‘Operation Sea-lion’ required the establishment of air superiority over the English Channel..

This task was entrusted to Goring’s Luftwaffe..

Britain hadn’t been invaded since the “Glorious Revolution” of William of Orange (1688)

During WWII, for the first time, civilians found themselves on the front line..

..primarily as targets of aerial bombardments

**The impact of the war on the ‘home front’ was on a scale never seen before..

There were many inconveniences: Strict blackouts had to be maintained There were severe shortages Public transport was curtailed (little petrol)

News was censored (propaganda campaign)

Eventually there were shortages of everything from food to toiletries

..leading to the introduction of rationing

As U-boat attacks on British shipping lanes intensified..

..a system of food rationing was introduced

Jan 1940: a ration book was allocated to each person

Coupons could be exchanged in local shops for supplies ranging from tea, sugar, cooking fats..

..to bacon, eggs and milk

Fresh fruit and veg were not rationed.. ..but were subject to availability

Non-native fruits (bananas, oranges..) disappeared from shops and stalls

*Beer and tobacco were not rationed.. ..both were considered necessary for

morale

The quality of beer declined as oats and potatoes replaced barley

As part of a “Dig for Victory” campaign.. ..public parks were turned into vegetable

allotments.

The Ministry of Food set up British Restaurants which provided cheap but nourishing meals

The general public was asked to donate to the war effort through a series of appeals..

..many of these were nothing more than PR exercises

The Home Guard

**Hitler’s cynical occupation of the remainder of Czechoslovakia in March 1939..

..dispelled all lingering illusions and hope of peace

**In April..for the first time in her history..Britain introduced compulsory military service in peacetime

Older or less fit men joined the Home Guard - ‘Dad’s Army’

It’s primary objective was to combat possible German parachute landings

Poorly armed, it had a positive effect on British morale during the war

Women and the War

More and more women joined the workforce..

..taking over jobs traditionally done by men..

..early 1940: a new law required unmarried women of military age to register for national service

..many joined auxiliary forces such as, ..the Women’s Aux Air force ..the Aux Territorial Service ..the Women’s Royal Naval Service

Others worked in munitions factories

The Women’s Land Army attempted to combat against food shortages..

..over 25,000 members in 1940

The largest such group was the Women’s Volunteer Service..

..which helped victims of bombing raids

The Blitz

Although the Battle of Britain ended in 1941, German night-time raids continued well into 1942..

High-explosive bombs, incendiaries (designed to cause fires) and parachute mines caused horrendous damage and suffering

Civilians sought protection in ‘Anderson Huts’ and ‘Morrison Shelters’..

..as well as in the tube stations.

**Luftwaffe raids killed more than 44,000 civilians

(A single Allied raid on the German city of Dresden on 13-14 Feb,1945 killed over 50,000).

Evacuation

As early as 1938 the British Gov set up an Imperial Defence Committee..

..it produced a report estimating that over 1 million Britons would die..

..(with another million injured).. ..in the first two months of the war.

High-risk areas were identified. When war broke out (Sept 1939), an

evacuation plan was immediately put into action.

Thousands of children left the cities for foster homes in the countryside.

Each child carried a case with a change of clothing and their gasmask within..

A label attached to their coat detailed their name, age, address and new destination

The operation lasted 3 days.. ..827,000 children ..103,000 teachers/social workers ..524,000 mothers and babies ..13,000 expectant mothers ..7,000 people with disabilities ..were all evacuated.

Many returned to their homes in the cities during the Phoney War period (Sept. 1939 - May 1940)

A new evacuation had to be hastily organised with the onset of the Blitz (Sept. 1940)

Refugees

From the moment Hitler came to power in 1933, people began to flee Germany..

Between 1933 and 1939, over 56,000 refugees from Nazi-occupied territories fled to Britain..

..the majority were Jewish

After the outbreak of war, it became almost impossible to escape Europe as a refugee..

Over the course of the war, fewer than 6,000 refugees managed to get to Britain..

..by then the reception they received was often hostile

Once it is known that Britain offers sanctuary..

..the floodgates will open and we will be inundated by thousands seeking a home

- Daily Mail, 1935

Sympathy for Jewish refugees increased again from August 1942..

..as news of mass deportation to ghettos - and worse - reached Britain

Conclusion

10 July 1940 - the first heavy bombing raid was made on southern England..

..for a month bombing was concentrated on Channel shipping and ports..

..then for another month on airfields and London

Thereafter - Hitler continued bombing London and the big industrial cities..

..**to see if Britain could be bombed into considering a compromise peace

Use of superior fighter planes.. ..directed to their enemies by radar.. ..and by sacrifice of many of her bravest

and most skilled pilots..

..**the RAF inflicted unsustainable losses on the Luftwaffe

17 September 1941 - Hitler ordered that ‘Operation Sealion’ be postponed indefinitely

(15 Sept. - he had lost 56 planes)

**The principal defenders of Britain were a few hundred young fighter-pilots..

..British and Dominion.. ..Czech and Polish.. ..Belgian and French

***It was the classical revenge of all the countries Hitler had tried to destroy.

‘Never,’ in Churchill’s famous phrase, ‘in the field of human conflict..

..was so much owed by so many to so few.’